Writer's anti-gay bias is easy to see

Saturday

Jun 29, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 29, 2013 at 6:57 PM

Keith Hatton's June 24 letter "Common thread is violence, not anti-gay crime" is illustrative of the need for Ohio's hate-crime legislation to include specific language that enumerates sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression.

Keith Hatton’s June 24 letter “Common thread is violence, not anti-gay crime” is illustrative of the need for Ohio’s hate-crime legislation to include specific language that enumerates sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression.

Hatton called the three attacks on gays a coincidence, but all three victims were accosted after leaving establishments known to be popular with LGBT patrons.

I’m not sure what Hatton’s concept of coincidence is, but it strikes me that, in this case, his claim is a bit too cavalier.

Moreover, it seems to reflect a negative view toward the safety of LGBT people.

His attitude is further reflected when he states that he doesn’t intend to be “insensitive to the plight of gays,” yet he views The Dispatch’s coverage of attacks on homosexuals as “pandering” to a “cause du jour.” His criticism of this coverage seems to contradict his statement that he has nothing against LGBT people per se, especially in the light of his claim that he would be willing to take action for what he considered to be a “real” cause.

I suspect that if Hatton actually took time to talk to members of the LGBT community who have been the victims of assault, he would find that they view their experiences as very real.If Hatton himself were the object of a group of haters who wanted to do him physical harm just for being the person he is, I’d imagine his definition of what a “real problem” is would rapidly expand to include his situation.

I was pleased to know that he marched in opposition to the Ku Klux Klan some 14 years ago, but it does strike me as somewhat ironic that his attitude toward the newspaper’s coverage of anti-gay violence helps perpetuate the status quo in which such attacks occur.The KKK often used the tactics of intimidation and beatings against African-Americans.

No thinking person would accuse a newspaper that reported such violence of “pandering” to the cause of racial equality. Why, then, should the safety of the LGBT community be any less worthy of concern?